Creating Resilient Futures: Climate Adaptation for Vulnerable Communities

Course Details

This course explores how climate change disproportionately affects marginalized communities due to their historical exclusion from planning processes. To combat these disparities, planners must adopt inclusive and equitable strategies to build resilient communities. Learn about practical tools like Maptionnaire, which effectively targeted engagement in key Houston neighborhoods, and a customized loteria (Mexican bingo) game used in Half Moon Bay to gather climate-related feedback from Spanish-speaking communities. GIS mapping analyses illustrate how climate impacts were identified and addressed in vulnerable areas, including farmworker communities.

Real-world case studies showcase the design of resilient pedestrian networks in underinvested communities and effective engagement in neighborhoods transitioning from a majority-white to a majority-BIPOC population. Case studies explore the intersectionality of language barriers and undocumented status in climate-related planning. These real-world examples demonstrate how planners can integrate equity into climate action strategies. Leave with actionable ideas to advance resilient and inclusive communities, ensuring all populations are prepared and protected against climate change.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand how historical exclusion of marginalized communities from disaster and climate action planning has led to disproportionate impacts, and learn strategies to address these disparities.
• Recognize the importance of inclusive planning to address issues induced by climate change, ensuring that all communities, including those of undocumented individuals, are considered.
• Learn to create resilient infrastructure and policies in underinvested communities by engaging diverse populations through creative and inclusive methods.